Laurieston 1C
Key Facts
Client
New Gorabls Housing Association / Urban Union
Location
Eglinton Street, Glasgow
Value
7,265,187 (inc. fees)
Internal Floor Area
4354m2
Completion
December 2018
A new landmark for the city
Project Info
The project forms the gateway to the new Laurieston masterplan reinstating a tenement grid over a former area of point blocks and poorly defined urban spaces.. While the project re-introduces a tenemental scale to Laurieston it also recognizes the significance of Eglinton Street as a gateway to the city. It was here we raised the scale with a dramatic step-up to a seven storey tower.
Design Intent
We wanted the housing to provide a frontage to the main streets while providing a secure courtyard and to ‘complete’ Eglinton Court to the rear. We formed an irregular U-shaped block with short-returns at Eglinton Street and Abbotsford Place which enabled us to introduce efficient closes with 3 off a close. Car and cycle parking was all to the rear with lockable-bollard spaces. We set back the boundary on Eglinton Street to acknowledge pedestrian desire lines and introduce high quality materials improving the public realm including engraved pre-cast concrete panels marking street names and close entrances.
There were two main challenges: The Eglinton Street/Cumberland Street junction is a busy traffic interchange with concerns about noise and privacy to flats. There was a 2m drop in level across the site yet there we needed to provide barrier free access and consistent roof lines. These were both addressed by the step-profile of the block. The stepping at the corner created a buffer-zone to flats and took out a 0.5m rise in level. The steps further along Cumberland Street allowed the building to fall a further 1.5m while keeping the same roof plane.
Future Proofing
• Adaptablility: Housing designed to Housing for Varying Needs standards (including 5 wheelchair flats)
• Sustainability: Designed to Aspects 1 and 2 of Silver Standard with Fabric-First strategy of high insulation and airtightness together with MVHR.
• Materials: Brick used extensively (Long-lasting, recyclable) both externally and internally in close areas.
• Orientation: South, West and East Elevations have larger windows than North elevations to benefit useful solar gains.
• Social Sustainability: Unit mix of flats with 1, 2 and 3 bed options
• Green Spaces: Front Garden spaces with hedging/trees improve walking environment of the street and is part of wider landscaping improvements to Eglinton Court.
Testimonial
“When they asked me if I’d prefer a property lower down, or one at the top, I jumped at the chance to take this one. The views from my living room are brilliant; I don’t need a TV when I have all this to look at. I’ve lived in a few different houses in the area, but this move is the best yet. My family can’t wait to visit me here.”
Thomas Anderson Resident
“The transformation of the wider Gorbals has been one of the real Glasgow success stories of the modern era and it continues to deliver. Communities that have had a real sense of abandonment for too long are now home to world-class design, and it’s a real credit to those behind the vision for the rebirth of the south banks of the Clyde that they have set the standards for housing in this city. Where they lead with pioneering social housing, the private sector follows.
The successes of the Gorbals and Laurieston are also crucial to our vision for Glasgow, reconnecting this critical area with the heart of the city whilst also creating a thriving and flourishing community with a real sense of people and place. It is a real model for physical and social regeneration.”
Councillor Susan Aitken Glasgow City Council Leader